


Your Obedient Servant

by ImperfectaOcculta



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drinking, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fighting, Fluff, Gore, Hallucinations, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kidnapping, M/M, Monster Tom, Old crushes, Revenge, Romance, Self-Hatred, Smoking, Songfic, Tord Redemption, Torture, War, World Domination, post!End, slight Paultryck, slight eddmatt, tomtord - Freeform, unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-11 14:18:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11150172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperfectaOcculta/pseuds/ImperfectaOcculta
Summary: It's been 9 months after The End, and it feels as if everything is finally returning to normal. In fact, if you ignore the dead neighbor, Tom's slightly scarred arm, and the new home, it feels like nothing happened. Tom, Matt, and Edd have finally grown comfortable with their wacky lives, and as much as Tom would like to deny it, he's already started healing the scars. Then everything changes in a heartbeat. Tom is missing, a dead man's walking, and the only clues Edd and Matt have are a torn up teddy-bear, a room covered in blood, and a charred familiar red hoodie.





	1. Medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom realizes maybe it's time to start dealing with what's real and what's isn't.

          Matt lazily flipped through the channels on the TV, a bored expression on his face. Edd sat at his side, a similar expression on; Tom dozed off noisily, hanging off the side of the sofa. Matt groaned in annoyance, giving up and dropping his head on Tom's shoulder, making him jump slightly. The brunette glanced between his two drooling friends, before finally standing up. "Enough of this, we've been doing nothing for days." Matt glanced up at Edd, and Tom stirred slightly, opening an eye drowsily. "Like what?" Edd rolled his eyes at the sarcastic-toned reply. "I don't know, but I'm tired of just sitting here and doing nothing all day!' Matt nodded, sitting up straight. "I have to go with Edd on this one. There's nothing to watch and we grew tired of counting your snores hours ago." Tom grunted, frowning slightly at the comment as he sat up and crossed his arms. "Well we don't exactly have anywhere to go, do we?" Matt smiled slightly, raising his eyebrows as he spoke. "Well there is the magic mirror...."

"No." The answer was immediate and made the ginger grumble and look away.

"C'mon guys! We need to think of something, being dead is fun-ner than this!"  The room went quiet, eyes darted around awkwardly. Tom jammed his hands in his pocket glancing away as Matt blinked in confusion. Something felt off, but no one realized that before Tom finally broke the silence

"Err... how about the circus? I don't recall us going there before." He was still staring at a spot on the wall, face turned slightly. Matt and Edd exchanged looks before laughing, getting Tom's attention and causing him to glare in their direction. "What's so funny?" Matt wiped a tear from his eye, still snickering slightly. "Isn't that a bit tame for us?"

Tom lifted a brow in confusion. "Tame?"

Edd nodded. "We've been to Atlantis, space, and Hell, and now we're going to the circus for the first time." Tom resisted an urge to smile, and instead, lifted his expression slightly. "Haha so funny..." Tom looked at Edd wide-eyed. " Wait, so we  _are_ going?"

Edd shrugged. "Yeah, why not." Matt lightly squealed in joy, and jumped up, making Tom smiled slightly. "Thanks Edd. Should we go get ready then?" Edd shrugged. "Go ahead, but we don't really need anything that fancy to leave."

Matt practically leaped out of his socks at this, immediately heading for the coat rack. Normally he wouldn't be this excited for something small like the circus, but compared to uselessly zoning in on the television, this was Christmas. Matt almost immediately threw his purple hoodie and green overcoat on, and was already anxiously waiting by the door, tapping his foot slightly. "Ready!"

Edd held in a laugh as he pointed a finger at the ginger's messy hair. "Forgetting something Matt?" Matt looked up slightly before shrieking a bit overdramatically. and dashing towards the bathroom. "Not the hair!" Tom laughed at this, rubbing his forehead. "I'll be back, I need to change this shirt, it's almost been three days since I've put it on." Edd cringed and chuckled slightly, watching Tom exit and close the door behind him.

Edd glanced around his empty apartment, not really knowing what to look for, but not really wanting anything either. He looked around already bored as heard nothing but silence. Edd sat down, letting himself sink into the soft fabric of the sofa, not knowing what to do for the next five awkward minutes. His world felt almost completely whole for the first time in ages, and whatever was missing, he probably didn't want or need. In fact, he didn't want to know even though a small part of him already did. Answers. He'd probably just forget about it anyways, or that's what he hoped for at least. He studied the carpet intensely lost in thought, eyebrows furrowed. Only when Matt loudly swung the bathroom door open, did the brunette look up.     "Well," Matt half exclaimed. "How do I look?"

He immediately put on an overdramatic pose while plastering on a Blue-Steel look alike. Edd bit his lip and slapped a hand over his mouth to avoid laughing. "You...you look smashing, Matt." He managed to breathe out slowly, shaking slightly. Matt was wearing black , a black  jacket on, but his hair was slicked to the side with way too much gel, and he had on makeup. Mascara, too much eyeliner, blush, and bright red lipstick.

"You look beautiful Matt. Stunning actually." Edd didn't even bother holding in a chuckle this time, shaking his head. Matt gasped, faking an offended look as put a hand to his chest. "Edd Gould! Are you being sarcastic with me?" His voice was high-pitched and girly, making the situation at least ten times funnier. Edd forced a serious face and bowed. "Why, of course not your highness! Who would dare offend her majesty?"

Matt smirked. "No one of course, but that really is a shame," Edd lifted an eyebrow a smile threatening at the corners of his mouth. "If it's so stunning then I'd doubt you would be ashamed to look this fabulous?" He thrashed a hand into his pocket, before pulling out a tube of lipstick and an eyeliner pencil. Edd's face visibly paled. "Sorry your highness, you confused me. I meant you look absolutely absurd and disgusting!"

Queen Matt gasped.

"How dare you peasant! I sentence you to be forced to wear fake eyelashes and unhealthy amounts of eyeshadow for the rest of your life!" Without warning Matt lunged at Edd, tackling him as he did and forcing a shriek out of him. Matt chuckled darkly, pulling out a tube of mascara. "Are you ready?'

"Nooo-"

* * *

_Meanwhile~_

-

Tom rushed down the hall as soon as he was outside of Edd's apartment barely stopping at his door, pulling it open. He slowed down once he stepped in, as closed the door behind him lazily, not even pushing it hard enough to fully close it. He groaned, turning around and kicking it shut. "Damn door..." He hated leaving Edd and Matt, even though it was just for a few minutes.

He strode past the living room dragging his feet on the sand-colored carpet, using as little effort as possible to actually move forward. "Home sweet home." he pushed his bedroom door open, stepping in, shivering at the much colder temperature and the slight breeze. A quick glance at the window proved his suspicions as he dully noted the fact that it was cracked open all the way. He strode in, not bothering to flip on the light switch, the sun shining through the window providing more than enough light. It was definitely a nice day, being more than perfect enough a day to get out. Tom pretty much face planted onto his bed, arms extended. He remained like that for a few minutes, only getting up  when he felt sleep start pulling at his mind. The eyeless man sat down, frowning softly as his non-existent eyes stayed locked on the floor. Tom wasn't thinking of anything as he made out the fine textures of the red wooden floorboards. He just seemed to be taking in everything, even the small details as if it was either the first or last time he would.

Tom glanced up quickly as the sound of pecking alerted him. He glanced around until he realized it was coming from his window. A robin on the windowsill.

He stared at it a few seconds, mouth parted slightly, before glaring at it. "What do you want?"

It blinked glossy black eyes, tilting its head slightly.

"Fuck off."

The robin stared at him.

"Bet you think this is bloody hilarious, don't you?"

It hopped forward slightly, eyes still trained on him.

"But Tom, it's been eight months, and before that _years!_ " He mocked.

Nothing. Tom persisted.

"You were complete opposites, Tom, enemies! Why do _you even care Tom!?_ "

Silence. He waited for a reply until he realized he was arguing with a bird.

"Well laugh all you want, I don't care, just fuck off already."

Silence again. Tom wanted to scream. He growled, tears threatening suddenly, as a familiar feeling washed over him.

"Just...why do you care anymore....?"

....

"I don't know."

His voice slurred slightly, as he hugged himself, standing up. He let go, shivering, but not from the cold as he rushed towards his nightstand. The eyeless man dug through the drawer, until his hand found the familiar bottle he'd been looking for.

"Hello old friend." He sat down again, not bothering to close the drawer as he studied the bottle. "It's been three weeks." It was orange and slightly see-through, with a white cap, and a white label. "I really thought I could stop this time." Tom read the label, he always made it a point to.

**Tom Ridgewell**

**Male**

**Age 27**

**April 26, 2016**

**Antidepressants**

**Take one pill twice daily, after waking up, and before going to bed for 9 months. Avoid heavy drinking for 3-4 hours after being taken. If any problems or side effects persist longer than 24 hours, consult your doctor immediately.**

**Side effects include and are not secluded to vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision,-**

Tom didn't bother reading the rest as he twisted open the cap and poured the remaining pills into his hand. Two. He didn't hesitate in taking both of them, and tossing the bottle onto his bed. He stepped  outside of his room, rubbing his temple as a loud high-pitched ring filled his ears. Leaning against the doorframe, Tom closed his eyes, and covered his ears. He dropped to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks as he silently sobbed.

* * *

 

The ringing took an entire 10 minutes to go away, and even then it still remained, distantly and quietly. Tom got to his knees still a little shaky, as he rubbed the back of his hand across his face, stopping his running eyes and nose. He felt ridiculous now, crying over a stupid bird.

He turned around, looking at his room. The robin was gone now, probably flew away when he was having his mental breakdown. Tom laughed slightly, but at himself . "Who argues with a fucking bird..."

He sauntered inside again, trying to forget the incident. He sat on his bed, again, this time leaning against the wall behind him. He tentatively reached under the dark blue pillows to his right, grasping the object underneath. he hesitated, before pulling it out. His favorite stuffed bear, probably the only one he'd kept. Tom had had it since he was a kid, maybe longer, and he could never bring himself to get rid of it. Too much time was spent with it, too many memories were shared, and too many incidents like before were calmed by it. It was a miracle it had survived...

It was a dark beige, but it's fur was fading, and a single tear was on its arm. It had a ridiculous unibrow, a few stitches here and there, and a slightly charred leg and paw. Thomas studied it, before hugging it tightly. It honestly helped; he already was feeling better, even if just a little. He let go, positioning it to the left of him, letting it slump against his side slightly. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and hugged them, looking around. What was he supposed to be doing, again? It had completely slipped his thoughts...

And there it was. It was only a small hint of red in his drawer, but he knew what it was. The ringing got louder. Tom shot up, edging off the bed quickly, making his bear completely fall over. He looked inside the drawer, breath hitched in the back of his throat and eyes squinted slightly, in denial. His vision grew blurrier as his eyes locked on the fabric. He reached a shaky hand inside, jumping slightly as his fingers brushed over the top of it.

The ringing was the only sound he could hear, besides his racing heartbeat, and the sudden loud chirps of a bird behind him. He grabbed it quickly and everything suddenly came crashing down. The chirps and rings were right in his ears now and he felt hot breath tickle the back of his neck.

A hand harshly grasped his shoulder.

_"Hello, old friend."_

Tom screamed loudly, letting go and spinning around violently. "Shut up!"  Everything went silent.

No one was there.

* * *

 

Edd chuckled leaning on the wall, Matt doing exactly the same. Turns out Matt was stronger than Edd had thought, and had managed to doll up the brunette's face incredibly. Matt had token off the fishnet tights and replaced them with his tan jeans. Now they were just waiting for Tom to finish up and come over. "Shouldn't we clean this stuff off?" Edd asked, laughing slightly.

Matt shrugged, wiping his eye. "Maybe. This would be a little hard to explain to Tom..."

"That's true." Edd breathed out, glancing at the clock. "What do you think is taking him so long? It's been almost forty minutes since he left..."

Matt followed his gaze, before rubbing the back of his neck. "Dunno. Tom's usually the first one ready, or is at least ready to leave when we are."  Edd nodded. "Should we go get him?"

Matt laughed, biting his lip. "Want to get this off first? "

Edd smiled. "Yeah, we look absolutely ridiculous."

Matt guffawed slightly. "Speak for yourself madam Ell, I look smashing."

Edd rolled his eyes, snorting. "Not good enough _to_ smash. And I thought we were going with 'Madam Edna'; remember female me's name is Ell."

"Oh yeah."

Cue the awkward silence. Edd looked away, blinking several times. That awful, nagging feeling started creeping on him again.

Matt smirked, breaking the silence. "I call the bathroom first!" 

"Hey, not fair!" Edd jumped in surprise as Matt eagerly and quickly stepped in the other direction, before leaping at him. Matt stumbled forward, falling flat on his face, and Edd rolled off of him, landing on his rear. They locked eyes, before Edd tried stumbling forward, tripping when Matt grabbed his ankle. "Not so fast-"

The door slammed open, violently, grabbing both of their attention. They glanced at the intruder, staring lankly when they realized it was Tom. The olive-toned man had on a tan button-up shirt on, which was rolled up at the sleeves, black skinny jeans, a plain silver watch, and his black and white checkered tie. His face was slightly red and he was frowning slightly.

"Guys we need to ta...."

His lack of eyes fell on his two friends in front of him, who were still staring up at him blankly. Ah another beautiful awkward silence. Tom's face contorted slightly as he caught sight of Matt's awful makeover.

"What the fuck is going on....?" Tom brought a hand to his mouth, the other going to his chest, as he struggled not to laugh. Edd's cheeks went red instantly as his mouth opened slightly.

"Being fabulous..."Matt managed to whisper, before he jumped to his feet and ran for dear life, aka the bathroom. Edd followed suite, racing Matt there. Tom burst out laughing, stumbling backwards slightly. He grasped onto the wall to stop himself from falling, as he viewed Matt and Edd wrestling over the sink in Edd's tiny bathroom, struggling to wipe off the mascara and blush.

"Move!"

"You're the one taking forever!"

Tom snickered softly, laughter dying down as he wiped away a tear. "You two are relentless." Edd glanced back at him from the bathroom, his face finally clear, as he chuckled a little. "Whatever."

He strode out towards Tom, sweeping his slightly wet hair away from his face with his hand. "Sooo ...are you ready?"

Tom away, a straight face forming. "Well..."

Hesitation.

Edd looked up at him, in confusion. "What's wrong, Tom?"

Matt interrupted noisily stomping in their direction. "What's up?"

Tom quickly laughed, half forcing it to change the subject. Matt lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"You might want to wash that better." He pointed at the ginger's right eye, which was still smudged with now smeared eyeliner.

"Huh?" Matt pulled out a hand mirror, glancing down at it, and screeching when he saw his reflection. He darted back to the bathroom, roughly pulling the door shut behind him.

Tom was still laughing when he turned his head back, meeting Edd's hardened gaze. The shorter man was staring coldly at the eyeless man, eyes burning into him as he studied his expression.

"Don't avoid the question Tom."

Thomas gulped, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to find words. He straightened a few moments later, directly facing Edd.

A million thoughts came to his head.

_I feel so lost and empty._

_I'm not ok, I don't think I've ever been._

_It hurts to wake up._

_Everything repels me._

_Nothing feels comfortable._

 Tom threw on a smile before speaking. "I'm fine Edd, I really am. I just have been feeling a little uncomfortable lately, that's it."

Edd's face finally softened a little at this. "Are you sure?"

Tom nodded, resting a hand on Edd's shoulder. "I promise."

Edd looked down, thoughts clouding his mind as he stared at the floor.

 Tom drew his hand back, stepping backwards a little. "Now it's my turn to ask. What's wrong with you?"

The brunette glanced up. "I think I know what you mean."

"Know what?"

He shrugged. "You know, the uncomfortable-ness of everything lately. I feel like something has gone wrong but I just can't see it yet. Something irrelevant is missing and it nags. I just can't shake the thought from my head, and it's so.....I don't know the word for it, but it's definitely not good. Everything just seems out of place...it's hard to explain." Tom nudged him on. "Ever since the...well ever since Tord-"

"Don't say it."

Edd looked away. "Well since you know what, things have been off. Matt won't even recognize that  it happened, I can't even think about it without a headache, and you....you've just been acting weird."

"How so?"

"You...it's hard to explain," Finally he met Tom's gaze, eyes searching. "You barely drink anymore and as surprising as that is, you rarely go to your own house anymore, you're always staying at either Matt's or my place. When you do go home, you're there for a day at best, and then you come back all flustered or jumpy..."

Tom blinked, squinting slightly and staring down Edd.

"I...."

"You what!?" Edd snapped. "You don't know? I've heard it before and I knew you would say it again. I'm tired of this Tom, even Matt is. You're on and then off and it's so confusing! We want to help, we're so worried for you, but you don't let anyone in, and it makes us feel terrible."

Tom was gaping now, emptily staring right through Edd.

Edd continued, crossing his arms. "So for the love of everything, go ahead, finish that sentence, but only if you're going to actually answer and not give me an excuse. Please."

Tom blinked, frowning. "I don't know what to say or feel Edd. I'm sorry, I really am."

"Well figure it out then, because I'm done."

The argument ended quickly after that when Matt busted out of the bathroom, face finally completely clean.

"Ready!"

"Great!" Edd clapped, immediately throwing on a smile, making it look like nothing out of the ordinary happened. "I guess we're all set then." Matt nodded, marching towards the front door. Edd followed, and stopped at the doorway. Tom stared emptily at the carpet, mentally and emotionally drained. 

"I'll catch up with you Matt, just let me grab my money." Edd watched Matt leave before facing Tom and walking straight past him. He glanced back at him as he grabbed his wallet, shoving it forcefully into his hoodie's pocket. "This isn't over Tom."

When he heard his name he looked up, hurt reading on his face. 

"You're going to have to answer one way or another, and preferably before someone gets hurt."

Tom didn't respond this time. 

Edd walked past him again and left, shutting the lights off and leaving the door open.

Tom stared at the knob for a few seconds, grimacing slightly.

_"He's right you know."_

Tom shuddered, shaking the strange voice from his head. He exited quickly, locking the door behind him.

Something isn't right, and for the first time Tom has acknowledged that.

* * *

 

 

Edd, Matt, and Tom returned home laughing their arses off. The circus turned out to be more fun than they expected, and definietly needed. Tom had almost forgotten Edd and his argument from earlier, and even though it wasn't quite gone, it was out of mind for the time being. 

What happened? Well the usual of course! Something went wrong, like it always does, a few tigeres and monkeys escaped, the trio had to fight an insane clown gang, and an elephant exploded. Or did two explode......? Oh and the entire tent burned down.

Matt chuckled stopping at his door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "That was fantastic! We should totally go again guys."

Tom smiled, rolling his non-existent eyes. "Sure, but next time you better bring guns. I am not getting attacked by a three foot tall man in make-up again. Also a fire extinguisher isn't a bad idea."

Matt giggled at this. "Fine." He pushed his keys into his door's lock, pushing firmly until it opened. "See you guys tomorrow!" Edd and Tom said their farewells, before continuing down the hall, stopping inbetween their rooms. Tom turned around, swallowing. "Edd, goodnight."

"Night Tom." Edd's door slammed quickly, leaving Tom alone and a little irritated.

"See you tomorrow I guess......"

The eyeless man entered his apartment rapidly, closing the door behind him just as a fast. He didn't bother with the lights, and instead walked into his room, avoiding all the obstacles in the kitchen and hall via instinct. Tom was quickly reminded of the fact that he forgot to close his window when he entered, a soft cold breeze wrapping around him. Tom decided to ignore it this once. He sighed softly when his shoes touched down on the soft carpet, sinking in. Immediately, he pulled them off, and even took off his socks, smiling lightly as he strecthed his feet and legs. 

He dragged his feet to the windowsill, leaning against the wall as he stared out, at the soft pinks and dark oranges on the sky. Night was just a few minutes away, these sunsets never lasted long. 

Tom had a mini-heart attack as he heard a soft peep from right at his feet. He jumped back, looking down as his adjusted eyes caught sight of the thing. The robin was back.

"You..." Thomas growled, staring down at it coldly. "What are you back for?" The tiny bird stared back up at him, the dying sunlight reflecting off it's beige and red feathers, and black eyes. It made a sound of distress before uselessly flapping it's wings, one dropping to the ground shortly after. 

"Hmmmm." Tom fell to one knee, sliding a hand beneath it. Surprisingly it didn't freak out, instead laying down. He moved his hand up to eye level and studied it before lowering it again. "Your wing's broken."

It cooed slightly at this, flapping it aimlessly again.

"Here." He brought it to his chest before standing upright, slowly pacing over to his nightstand. Opening the middle drawer, he used the little light left to scope through and find what he was looking for: gauze.

"It's not much, but something's better than nothing." Tom gently rested it down and peeled a long strip of gauze off, before tearing it. Setting down the roll, he carefully stretched out it's wing, stopping whenever it jumped. "There there....."

He wrapped it up tightly, stopping when it looked good enough. Tom placed a hand down, allowing the robin to step onto his hand, before walking back to his window.

Thomas sat down, bird in hand, eyes trained on it. He studied it in detail, taking in every feather and speck, stopping when it shivered and ruffled it's feathers out. "Here."

He lowered it to his hoodie's pocket, letting the small bird climb inside and nestle against him. After a few minutes it's eyes closed.

Tom smiled. 

He looked back outside now, staring at the almost gone sun. The sky was now a dark orange, surrounded by a dark blue. Moments like this were nice. He didn't have to think or feel anything right now, he could be at peace, in peace, and felt almost good. This was nice.

"Beautiful, isn't it Tom?"

Tom jumped at his name, turning around on his knees instantly. This wasn't just a voice, this was  _the voice._ The exact thing he heard under Mtt or Edd's breath, the same thing he had dreams, no, nightmares about. The one he imagined and heard on a daily base but hadn't been spoken in, in months. Nine months to be exact. 

Tom jumped to his feet, breathing heavily. His eyes darted around, catching sight of a pair of feet and legs in the darkness, a few yards in front of him.

He stepped closer.

"Stand....stand back!" Tom hissed, backing away himself.

"Why?"

Tom's mouth went dry as he struggled to control himself. 

"Because your not real, you can't be, I made sure of that. You're a hallucination...."

"I'm a little surprised you recognized me, but I guess I shouldn't be."

Tom closed his eyes, taking another step back, and hissing when he felt his heel against the wall.  _Shit._

"Stop it! I know why you're here, just leave me alone!"

"Excuse me?"

"I took too much meds, you always do when I do that...please just leave me be." Tom choked out words as panic set in. He opened his eyes hoping the figment would be gone.

The figure stepped into the light. Tom knew this was real as soon as he saw him.

Grey eyes, soft lips, pale skin, the reddish hair.

"Medicine...?"

It was definitely him. This wasn't a hallucination. But something was off.

A little less than half of his face was a light red, and looked dry and rough. His arm....wasn't exactly an arm. It was red, and shiny and looked almost metal. An eyepatch was covering the eye on the red part of his charred face.

Tom finally breathed, shakily getting to his feet.

"Tord...." 

The Norwegian stared blankly at him, before his face contorted into a grin. "Oh Thomas! It's a pleasure to see you again. It's been ages hasn't it?"

Tom gulped, eyes still wide in disbelief even though he knew it was real. "You..."

"Nine months I believe."

"You're supposed to be dead...."

Tord lifted the corner of his lip in slight disgust.

"Oh yeah, about that.....it turns out I'm not. Surprise, surprise!"

Tom  looked him up in down, edging away. "How!?"

The taller man smirked, before pointing a finger at his head. "Next time aim for the head, stupid."

"No..." Tom's facial expression changed, leaving him glaring daggers at the redhead. "No!"

"No what?"

"You're not allowed to do that. You're not allowed to be here, be alive!" Tom's fists clenched, and he stepped forward a little, forgetting his fear.

"Excuse me?" Tord followed Tom's actions, eye locked angrily on him.

"You deserve to be dead!" Tom stepped closer again, now mere feet away. "You killed my neighbor, tried killing me, you hurt my friends, and you destroyed everything we ever owned because of your own stupid desires!"

Tord laughed. "That's not everything, is it? Go ahead, cry, attack me. This is my moment."

Tom didn't have time to make a comeback as the man in front of him pulled out a gun, and pointed it at Tom's chest.

"Try me, I dare you. I will shatter you."

Tom looked up from the gun, confused and scared, as he stared up at him and whispered. "Like you haven't done that already." Tord growled at him, shoving him back forcefully. Thomas took the opportunity and lunged at Tord's legs, bowling him over . 

"Get off!" Tord immediately attacked back, kicking him in the face roughly.  Tom was sprawled backwards, awkwardly hitting his head on the wall behind him. He rolled over, attempting to stand up, but Tord was already above him. "Nice try Thomas, but yet again, you fail."

Tom shook his head pointing behind him. "Look!"

Tord rolled his eyes. "I'm not dumb, that doesn't work on-"

Tom punched  Tord square in the jaw, groaning at the pain in his knuckles that followed. Tord fell back grunting as he landed, but before he could get up a kick in his side sent the air out of him. Tom scrambled to his knees, dusting himself off and reaching for the gun which fell from  the commie's hand a seond earlier. 

Tord hissed, grabbing onto Tom's leg, and snapping harshly. Tom cried out in pain doubling over as pain verwhelmed this lower body. No normal human could have done that, the metal arm must have something to do wth it. 

Tord grabbed the gun and before anything else could happen, he fired. Tom screamed, falling over as blood spurted from the gunshot. He rolled onto his side, writhing in pure pain as he noiselessly screamed into his chest. Tord sighed, picking himself up and putting the gun into it's holster on his hip.

He wiped his hands on his dark red long coat, pulling a wet cloth out from one of his side pockets. Tom was too absorbed in the blood and pain oozing from his shot and broken legs to notice Tord, until he pushed him flat on his back. Tom screeched, trying to push him off, but to no avail. "Stop, please! I'm sorry! Tord!"

He ignored the pleas and dropped onto him,  putting pressure onto his broken leg. Tom screamed again loudly, pain rippling up his spine. Tord covered his mouth, trying his best to silence him.

"Shhhhhh.....just close your eyes."

Tom cried out, choking suddenly when the communist shoved the cloth into his mouth. Tom struggled for a minute, but his eyes slowly fell, and his eyelids dropped as he fell asleep.

Once he was sure the smaller man was out, Tord stood up, snapping his fingers. "Paul, bring him back to the plane, and tell Patryck to get ready to lift off. We need to be out of here in 10 minutes or less if we want to avoid police."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, dressed in the same blue and red outfit as Tord. "Yes sir." He brushed the hair from his face, approaching Tom's resting form, before picking him up easily and exiting. Tord watched until he left, before approaching and flicking on the light switch. He glanced around the room, looking for anything useful. He was about to leave when something caught his eyes.

Tord approached Tom's bed, picking up the empty bottle, and reading the label.

His face fell at the word 'antidepressants', and the rest wasn't exactly a bowl of cherries either. He stared at for a few seconds, carefully going over everything.

"Medicine, eh?"

He flicked the bottle back onto the bed, where it just bounced off of and rolled onto the floor. Tord looked again towards the bed, eyes falling on the torn stuffed animal lying there.

God he'd always hated that thing, Tom kept it for no reason and whenever he'd had offered to help stitch it up Tom would refuse. Tord was slightly surprised by the fact that it hadn't burnt up in the explosion. Impressive and annoying.

Tord glanced around the room, now realizing how bloody it was. Blood was sprayed across the before white carpet, and the light blue walls were colored with it. There even was a little on the cieling. Again impressive and a nuisance. 

The next five minutes was spent searching through the room itself, which was fairly easy because of how clean everything was. The only interesting thing he could find was another bottle of pills which was half empty. Tord shoved it in his pocket, this time deciding to bring it with him. Tord looked around, one last time, realizing he forget to check the nightstand. 

Sluggishly, the Norwegian pulled open both drawers, and began dgging through them.

Pens, pencils, gauze, tape, a pair of socks, a needle and thread, an ipod, and a hoodie-

Tord stopped, eyes widening as his gaze fell over it.

_His hoodie....?_

"He kept it." Tord was positive he had dumped it oustide of the city. He couldn't bre to stand it at the time, but now here it was, in all of it's slightly charred glory.

Tord plled out a pocket knife, slicing of a piece off a piece of the sleeve and shoving it into his coat pocket, before he threw it on the floor and walked over it. The redhead stopped, shivering suddenly. A quick glance towards the window made him groan. "Idiot. Does he want a cold?" Tord marched over and slammed the window shut, a little louder than he meant to, which only reminded him that he should get going. He looked around, before walking into the center of the room and dipping two digits into the pool of blood collecting. 

Quickly, he went to the nearest wall and marked it, trying his best to evenly spread it. The sound of a siren quickened him. 

Tord looked around one last time, before flicking the lights off, and exiting. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo this is my first fanfic ever!   
> I tried making the chapter a decent length, so sorry if it's too short! :(  
> Anyways I hope you liked it, sorry for the lack of detail.  
> Chapter 2 will be out in around 2 weeks, because this alone took 3 days and I'm very lazy.  
> Thanks for reading this and have a great day!


	2. Dead To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edd has a rather violent realization, Tom is missing, and some rather strange and confusing changes are made.  
> -Very gorey and violent scenes depicted/described below, please be wary of this and cussing-

Tom groaned, his head feeling heavy. A relentless throbbing pain rang along the side of his skull, making him shakily lift a hand, to rub his temple. Groggily, he opened an eye, letting it adjust to the strange, yet harsh light above him. The pain went away after a few moments, but the light still took a few minutes to get used to. Tom blinked a few times, finally taking in his surroundings. "What the hell..."

It was entirely black around him, the overhead light being the only thing stopping the darkness from swallowing him. In the distance, he could barely make out something shiny, but it was too dark to see what it was. The air was lukewarm and empty, but a faint scent of blood made him immediately focus on something else.

Complete silence.

Thomas gulped, looking around one last time before deciding to look up. As you could guess, this was a stupid decision.

He cried out loudly, the bright light practically burning his eye sockets, the light from it incredibly strong. He ducked his head, hands falling over his eyes immediately. He choked back a sob, and let a single tear roll down his cheek. Sniffling slightly, Tom covered an eye with his hand, closing the other tightly. Shuddering slightly, Tom extended his unoccupied arm as far out as it would go, stretching his fingers out to try and block out as much of the light as he could. he slowly spread the fingers over his eye, glancing through the cracks at whatever was above that annoying light.

Nothing.

He squinted, and shifted his position slightly, leaning back as far as the chair-

Tom hesitated with the thought, and glanced behind him. He was on a metal fold-out chair of some sort, which was heavy with rust and blank spots from where paint must have washed off. The creaking sound it suddenly produced returned him to his thoughts, making him turn back around and continue. Letting his eyes adjust to the light again, he leant back, ignoring the protesting chair beneath him.

It took a little longer than preferred, but Tom could slowly, but surely make out the shape of what appeared to be a wire suspending the light. To his disappointment, the roof must have been very high up, because he couldn't even see that, or any more of the wire going up.

"Maybe I can climb up that..." Tom stopped himself, sputtering as his throat burned from the cool air. He realized just how thirsty he was when he tied breathing again and it triggered a small coughing fit.

But dehydration wasn't what stopped him. The sudden realization did.

_What are you trying to escape from?_

"I don't know..." He breathed out, cringing again from the crisp air on his dry throat. He looked ahead into the darkness.

It was despairingly silent as moments passed until it replied, voice crawling with disgust, making Tom shudder.

_Do you even know where you are?_

Tom frowned, eyes lowering.

"No."

_You're pathetic. Did you forget I was here?_

"No...it's just I...I don't know what to say anymore..."

More silence.

_You repel me._

"Leave me alone."

It complied.

Tom breathed out a heavy sigh, quickly regretting it when the pain from his dry throat reminded him not to breathe out anymore. He forced himself to swallow, hoping that might ease the pain a little. He was wrong again today. Wait was it today? Or tomorrow? What time was it....?

Thomas lifted his arm, and realized quickly that he didn't have his watch on anymore. A quick glance down made Tom suddenly screech. He still had on his blue hoodie but what bothered him was the massive amounts of blood on it. His blood. Something trickled down his leg.

Tom's stomach turned, making him want to wretch as the smell of blood got heavier. He couldn't feel his legs, they were completely numb and cold.

_Look down._

Tom immediately followed orders, staring down his legs. "Oh my-" he choked out, forgetting his previous caution.

The clothing around his lower left leg was ripped clean off, revealing a sickening red and purple bruise, and his knee looked lopsided if that was even possible. A metal pole was aligned along his entire leg, held to him by four tight leather tourniquets. The other leg on one hand, was far worse. Heavily blood soaked bandages were tightly wrapped around  the middle of his thigh, and were oozing a mixture of blood, and a yellowish liquid of some sort.

Thomas gagged, clasping a hand over his mouth, the other shaking violently as it hovered over his knee.

_Remove them._

"No..." He gasped, tears forming at the corners of his empty eyes. Despite his objections, he couldn't stop himself. His fingers quickly found their way around and into a small section of weaker bandage, the sound of his fingers squishing against the bandages made a wave of nausea suddenly hit him.

_Take it off._

Tom obeyed, forcefully ripping it off. He didn't expect it to hurt that much, but a small part of him was hoping it would, just to feel something in his numb body and empty brain. Pain seared across his body as the bloody cloths broke away. He dropped them immediately, grasping onto his leg and howling in pain. Blood spurted from between his fingers as he tightly grasped the wound. He sobbed violently now, not bothering to hold back tears as the pain only seemed to intensify and spread the more he held on.

His breath hitched as he glanced back down, lifting his arm. The wound was bad. A large hole from the bullet was right below his knee, and was an angry red. It was bleeding a lot, more now that he removed pressure. Tom quickly covered it back up with his hands, frantically glancing around. He felt his heart pounding quickly in his chest, making his breath come out quicker than anticipated.

"H....Help!" Tom finally called out, ignoring the pain he felt outside and inside.

_No one is here; you're all alone._

"Help! Please!" Tears persisted and so did Tom.

_No one can hear you._

Tom sobbed loudly, now, trying to stand up.

"Please!"

_No one cares anymore._

He fell forward, tripping and twisting his left ankle as he did.

 **_ SNAP. _ **

He screeched the loudest now cramming his eyes shut, the sound of bone cracking was overwhelming, making him completely forget about his heavily bleeding gunshot wound, as his hands scrambled to his other leg. He grasped at his now crooked shin. He opened his eyes slightly, glancing down at the area of pain. It was so much worse.

His lower leg hung down limply now from the breaking point, where what appeared to be bone, stuck out of the skin sharply, small bits of torn flesh still clinging to it.

"Oh God...!' Tom choked out a whimper, unable to scream anymore, voice hoarse from screaming and crying. "This.....this isn't...isn't good..."

This can't really be happening.

_Surprise._

Tom blinked, trying as hard as possible to avoid looking at his bloody mess of a body. He caught sight of the metal fold-out chair and reached desperately at it, latching onto one of the legs, but yelped back in surprise when he felt something crusty on it crumble off at his touch. His eyes wearily studied it before he knew what was off. The wasn't rust, it was dried blood. And those weren't missing paint patches, they were scratch marks.

Tom drew back his hand viciously, curling into a small ball, no more effort or liquid left to cry with.

"Edd....Matt...I'm so sorry....''

_Just die already._

Tom closed his eyes, his vision had already been blurring. He couldn't feel pain anymore, he just felt cold despite the fact that he was sweating. Tom slowly used the last of his energy and hugged his knees to his chest, barely opening his eyes, and coughing slightly. He ignored the blood that spattered out of his mouth when he did, instead whimpering pathetically. It felt like it had been hours when Tom felt a sudden heavy feeling overwhelm him.

 

"I don't want to die.....I'm sorry..... Tord....."

Tom's vision faded to black.

* * *

 

 Edd and Matt stared at the television blankly, an awkward distance between them on the couch. Both were quiet as they aimlessly stared ahead, neither really wanting to talk. Matt flicked his eyes in Edd's direction, studying his hardened facial expression. "Edd."

Edd grunted in response, half glaring at the show currently on.

"Why are you heaving so much attention on this?"

"It's interesting." Edd turned facing away from his friend coldly.

Matt glanced at the TV, and cringed. "Edd."

"What?'

"We're watching Teletubbies."

Edd actually looked up at this and blinked a few times, before looking at Matt.

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling good today.."

Matt nodded. "It's fine. What's wrong?"

"It's Tom...." Matt's eyes widened slightly, his somber expression deepening slightly. "Oh.....is that why he's not here today?"

The brunette rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah....I snapped at him two days ago before we left to that circus place. I was just so tired of him acting weird and being so ominous. It got me and I took it out on him."

Matt laughed slightly. "Oh I know that part. I heard."

Edd lifted an eyebrow, scooting back a little. "Excuse me?"

The ginger rolled his eyes, smirking deviously. 'Why, of course! Your walls are thinner than you think, Edd. We can literally hear everything through them."

"Aaaand now I just feel uncomfortable." Edd said, blushing a little.

Matt continued. "So, what happened next?"

Edd's face faltered, and he curled the corner of his lip upward in regret. "Nothing. And that's the problem."

"Explain."

"Well...ya know," Edd gestured slightly. 'Ever since Tord, everything hasn't been normal."

The look on Matt's face almost caught Edd off guard. He was glaring at him, eyes hollow.

"Edd, stop right there. I'll help you do whatever it is you need to apologize to him, but we aren't going to talk about _that._ Got it?"

The stern attitude in his friend's voice made the brunette flinch. "Really?"

Matt sighed, smiling. "Sure. But at least check and see if he's home. I'll even go with you." Edd smiled, and tackle hugged Matt, almost bowling him off the couch.

"Thank you, Matt."

* * *

 

Edd stared up at the door anxiously, Matt at his side.

"Edd, if you want him out, you're going to have to knock. "

Edd groaned rolling his eyes."Yeah yeah, I know. I'm just thinking of something to say....."

"Ok, you do that and I'lll knock!" He reached out and began knocking on the door eagerly.

"Matt, stop!"

"Too late!" Matt chuckled letting Edd wrestle his arms away, having already have knocked several times. Edd stared up at the wood firnishing on it, eagerly expecting it just swing open.

It didn't, even when they knocked three more times and waited five minutes.

"What do you think he's doing?"

"He's probably just not home, Edd."

Edd shrugged, eyes lowering a little. "Or he's ignoring us because of me. I scared him away, I should have known that it was too soon for him."

Matt looked towards Edd, frowning a little, before releasing a sigh. "Stop."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"That stupid thing you do," Matt stared deeply at Edd, voice tensing. "....where you blame everything on yourself and always try face things head-on, by yourself. You act like everything is a problem that only you can fix, even if it hurts you. It's so annoying and painful to watch. Stop."

The brunette looked up now, eyes locking on Matt's stern face in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Please don't act like you don't."

 Edd  hesitated. "Matt...I'm...I..I don't know what to say...?"

"Just shut up." Matt pushed past Edd, leaning on the door, ear pressed against it. Edd grimaced, if he wasn't already feeling bad, he definitely was now.

Edd gulped awkwardly standing and watching Matt concentrate on the door. "Matt....?"

The ginger ignored him, shifting slightly and lightly brushing his pale hand over the doorknob.

"What are you doing?"

Matt quickly silenced with him a finger, before him beckoning Edd over. "Listen." Matt moved away from the door to give Edd room, his hand still on the doorknob. The shorter man leaned down, pressing the side of his head to the door. It took him a while to hear anything besides his own breathing, but eventually he could make out small subtle hissing sounds coming from inside, and small light stomping sounds.

Edd picked himself up, before glancing at his friend. "What is that?"

Matt shrugged, before turning back to the knob, fidgeting it slightly. "Oh, I guess we have to break in." Edd was about to send him a surprised look when suddenly a strange thought occurred. "Isn't it weird?"

"What?"

"This...this thing we do."

"I'm sorry Edd, you're going to have to be a bit more specific."

Edd looked down now, feeling stupid. "I don't know how to explain it...." He paused for a second now, staring up into the ginger's eyes. "Isn't it weird, that this is normal? That it always have been. It's _tame_ compared to things we've done. But it also somehow is so wrong....? It doesn't feel right."

Matt wasn't directly looking at the shorter male now, just a little to the side of him, far off in the distance. "I don't understand." His eyes along with his words were empty and cold.

"Everything we've done since we were even kids, has been crazy and dangerous and normal for us. We've encountered ghosts, monsters, demons, everything! I've never met anyone else besides us three, er four, who have done this every day, and felt like it was just that; _normal._ "

Matt didn't respond, but Edd persisted, face flushed and voice hard.

"Like....everyone else has a job! We lounge about until something weird and random happens, and we never question this. It happens everyday or every week, and we just play along. There's no explanations whatsoever. Take Tord for example. I swear, he's been killed three times, and the rest of us at least once. Explain that!"

Matt's voice was cold. "Edd, I think you need to cal-"

"No!" Edd growled, stepping forward and pushing Matt back forcefully with a finger. "This isn't okay. _I'm not okay._ You and Tom aren't either, don't pretend we are." Matt lifted his lip slightly, eyes still beyond Edd. "Everything is just so _wrong!_ It's fallen together so perfectly to make our lives seem so big even if it defies logic. It's so perfect and that can't be _possible._ You know that, I know that, the only difference is I can accept that. You can pretend that everything is sunshine and lollipops, but you're going to realize it sooner or later Matt"

Matt shook his head, finally locking eyes with Edd. "Stop. This is ridiculous. _You're being ridiculous._ "

Edd almost screamed. "Shut up for once!"

Matt growled, stepping forward, his body towering over Edd's. "I said to fucking stop."

It was the brunette's turn to step back now, in surprise as he gazed up. He'd never heard Matt actually cuss before, or even get this angry or cold. "You know what Edd? Maybe you're right. Things aren't ok, but not in the way you think they aren't. Of course we aren't ok you fucking moron. Our _best friend,_ tried to kill us, and destroyed everything we had for something we still haven't figured out even though it's been almost a year. Did you ever stop think of what that does to anyone?"

Edd didn't have time to even think of a reply as Matt pushed on. "No of course not. Because Edd blames every silly thing on himself and doesn't even stop to think of what others are feeling, because he's too caught up in feeling bad for himself."

Silence. Edd stared at Matt taking the same empty look as he struggled to grasp his mind around it.

"Are we finished?" Matt half-hissed, glaring down at Edd.

"No...."

"No what? Speak up."

"No. You don't get to blame this on me, on anyone, not even Tord."

Matt's eyes narrowedvin anger, as he clenched a fist. "Excuse me?"

Edd's eye lowered in defiance. "You heard me loud and clear. You can't blame this on anything, not even the End, and I think that's what is getting so pissy."

"The "End"?

Edd blinked before violently shaking his head. "No...I...I don't even know where that came from. But my point still stands. Everything has been our messed up version of 'normal' until the incident. After that....things haven't been normal...but they have."

Matt frowned deeply. "Ok, this is insane, and you know it. Or maybe you don't, I don't care."

"Insane? _Insane!?_  This is insane! Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, except we expect the same thing! I don't even know where I got that quote, it feels like someone just wrote it down in my head to make what I say seem more...I don't even know. But this is normal, but not our normal, it's normal people's normal.

"We keep doing _this,_ and it's not right. We used to fight zombies, randomly join the military or explore ancient ruins in our own front yard! Crazy, unrealistically normal things for us. And now... now we're regular fucked up people. We rarely go on adventures that we used to go on daily, Tom used to be reclusive and sarcastic, now he's scared to be by himself and is _nice_. You used to be crazy obsessed with yourself and kind and you were an idiot, and now you're cold, and you use words and say things you used to have to Google. Me, I don't even know what to think anymore, every thought feels like it was forced to into my head. I don't know.

"Everything used to be "normal" for us despite the fact it was random and we did this without question for context for something, to entertain some bigger thing. I feel like if there even is anyone out there, that is remotely involved in us, our everything, they've forgotten about us or have given up, and we're forgetting and giving up on us too."

Matt stared blankly at Edd, mouth parted slightly in awe, and face struck between confusion, realization, and...relief? Edd couldn't tell, or even care at the moment.

Edd shouldered past Matt forcefully, a harsh whisper passing from his lips. "Don't you dare even say anything."

Matt turned around, watching as Edd pushed open the door. "And next time push, it was unlocked idiot." The ginger haired man gulped, following Edd in, only to be greeted by the smell of rotten eggs. He hesitated sharply, glancing at Edd, before, speaking. "What even is that? It smells like something died in here."

Instant regret.

Edd turned his head swiftly, glaring. "I said don't say anything. I'm going to go check Tom's room, you find whatever is making that stupid noise and smell." And with that Edd left, exiting behind the corner to the hallway. Matt was alone. He frowned slightly, he didn't like the once comforting dining room of Tom's. Too many shadows looked like possible bodies in the poor light. Almost sprinting out, he exited the uneasy room, cringing when he entered the kitchen from the much stronger smell lurking in the air.

Glancing around, Matt grasped a hand over his mouth, eyeing everything in sight. The hissing noise continued nearby, seeming to get louder. This couldn't be too hard, Tom had an unusually small kitchen, with a single stove, small counter in the middle of the room, a fridge, and to the side of the room, another counter with a sink, and a shelf with cupboards over it. The dining room and kitchen were connected, with a hallway on the left side of the dining room leading to a hall, which led to Tom's room. The kitchen itself had a door in the back in between the counter and fridge which led to a tiny bathroom.

Matt stumbled forward feeling a little clumsy. He held onto the counter and flicked a switch, jumping when he realized he had turned on the garbage disposal, and not the light. Fixing his mistake, he turned on the kitchen light and took in everything once more. The kitchen was completely clean. He stalked back to the dining room, and using the light from the kitchen he looked around, finding nothing.

No the noise and smell was stronger in there, it had to be coming from in the kitchen. Turning  back around, he viewed everything, taking in even random pointless details. Stepping forward, he quickly noted the fact that it was indeed getting stronger. Matt trudged on, the grip over his nose and mouth tightening so badly he wanted to run out of the apartment as quickly as possible. He constantly reminded himself to not cover his face with his hoodie, so he could get closer to whatever was making this.

He checked through the cupboards, surprisingly finding them completely empty and dust filled. He continued the search.

The hissing noise got closer as he edged around, coughing slightly and stumbling forward. He stopped suddenly, the noise almost overwhelming him now. The mini fridge. Matt hesitated, his hand ghosting over a few mere centimeters away from the its handle. In one swift motion, Matt pulled it open, jumping back.

Nothing happened.

"What...?" He breathed, out before covering his nose again. The fridge was almost completely empty, excluding a single six-pack of some type of beer. beside it was a half-full bottle of Smirnoff. A single can was popped out of the pack, on it's side, a big frozen puddle of alcohol spilling from it, or had been anyways. Stepping forward he glanced inside again. The entire inside was covered in dust including the drinks.

Gagging slightly Matt slammed the door shut, looking around again. There was nothing left, and this had to be the room it was coming from. Matt looked over to the right of the refridgerator, eyes suddenly locked on.....

Matt's face visibly paled, and his breath stopped.

_The stove._

* * *

 

 Paul closed his eyes, letting out a long exhale of smoke, opening his unbandaged eye only to watch it disappear into the chilly air. He swore if someone didn't put in a space heater real soon....

The coffee machine behind him made a loud ringing noise, making the brunette jump alarmingly. The cigarette fell to his feet, making him groan and cuss under his breath. Quickly stomping it out, the Dutch man turned around and pulled out the pitcher from the silver machine. Grabbing a styrofoam cup, he poured the hot drink cautiously, stopping it before it overflowed. Paul settled the pitcher down again, grabbing the cup and swiftly blowing over it, before taking a sip. He didn't care much for sugar or milk, preferring it straight up, and strong. He was falling asleep no less than thirty minutes ago anyways, diluting it wasn't the best idea.

After he finished the cup, the brunette filled it up again, he strung his rifle back over his shoulder from it's earlier position leaning on the wall and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it quickly. Stuffing it in his mouth he marched out of the plain gray room, kicking the door shut.

From there, Paul walked down the familiar cold, dusty hallways, which were made entirely of metal. His heavy coat protected him from the occasional chilly drafts, and a scream sounded from somewhere far beyond him. He paid it no attention, pulling out the cigarette to let out a rather big puff of smoke. He hummed a small tune, a little off note, but he didn't really care. Finally he was there.

He stopped short of a set of small windowless double doors. They weren't very big, being maybe six foot tall, and together six feet wide. The metal was rusty and one of the handles were missing. It looked ordinary, probably on purpose as well. The only thing differentiating them from the rest was the small red line painted above.

Paul breathed out, before carefully sliding the creaky door with the handle open, and sliding his slim figure inside. Grabbing a lamp from the wall near the door where it hung, he pulled out his lighter, quickly lighting the wick before setting it back onto the hook it was from. He stuffed the lighter back into his pocket, turning around. The room was completely dark except for the kerosene lamp, and the large overhead light in the middle of the room/

"Hey kid, you awake?" He called out, accent showing in his voice.

No response.

He squinted, taking a few steps forward, to better make out the shape of the figure. Paul's jaw dropped, cigarette rolling out of his mouth and coffee dropping, both landing on the floor. Paul completely ignored it, as he rushed forward, covering distance quickly between the exit and the limp body before him. Heart pounding, and eyes wide, he skidded to a halt as soon as the unconscious body  lay directly a few feet before him.

"Oh God...." Paul muttered, circling Tom, getting a better look at the damage done. Both legs were severely bleeding and small bits of blood was trickling out of hi mouth into the big puddle of it collecting around him. Dropping to his knees, the brunette roughly grabbed the eyeless man, pulling him into his lap. He pushed to fingers to his throat and held the man's limp head close to his ear.

He breathed out in relief when he heard a small bit of breathing and felt a small beat. Swallowing hard, the Dutch man pulled the hoodie off of Tom, taking note of the fever as his hand brushed against Tom's forehead. He ripped the sleeve off, wrapping it tightly around Tom's gunshot wound over his leg. He dropped the hoodie, struggling to lift Tom up in his arms as he wobbled upward. Paul swore he heard a small chirp noise, but he ignored it.

As soon as Tom's weight shifted bearably in Paul's arms he jogged forward, going as a fast as he could. It took agonizing long to get the exit, but as soon as he approached it, Paul kicked one of the door several times, until it finally let in. He looked around, dismay gaining on him when he remembered the long halls here. Catching his breath he decided on the hall in front of him. He looked around wildly, not seeing anyone. He closed his eyes, attempting to remember the words.

"Medisinsk hjelp! Nå!"

The Dutch man started forward, screaming the Norwegian loudly as he coped with Tom's unusual weight in his arms. He stopped only when a loud voice called from beside him. "Her!"

He turned around, seeing a dark haired man with frizzy hair push out a shiny metal utility cart behind him, gasping for air. "Her...."

Paul nodded, resting Tom down onto it.

"Du tar ham til medisinsk nå." The man blinked at Paul's bad Norwegian accent and pronunciation until he was urged along by the Dutch taller man. Paul watched him rush around the corner, noisily turning the cart.

He let out a long sigh, finally letting the toll of carrying another full grown human while trying to run settle. His dry lungs cracked slightly at the cold air entering him, while his legs felt unusually sore. Paul wouldn't complain though, he was trained for much worse and had been through things that could've ended. And hey, maybe the lungs was just because of the smoking. Paul thought on this for a second, before shaking his head. Nah.

He stretched, swallowing hard as he felt the small pop of his bones as he did. The Dutch man only remained leaning on the wall for as long as it took to catch his breath and let this sink in. Almost immediately, he set off again, this time at a calmer marching pace. The layout of the building was imprinted in his head, proving it easy to make his way through the maze of halls and rooms, leading himself to the desired destination.

He traveled quickly and arrived just as fast, stopping at the big metal doors at the end of one of the longer halls. These were possibly one of the only doors in the entire base that weren't identical to the rest standard gray doors, and for an important reason too. The doors were painted black and were much cleaner and newer. A red symbol was scrawled out onto the doors. They were also much taller and wider than the rest.

Two guards were stationed on either side, rifles leaning inward. They wore the standard outfits; red long-sleeve turtlenecks with navy blue overcoats. They had brass buttons closing them, and red belts tied tightly around the middle. They were accompanied by black pants usually, and red sturdy boots. Everyone wore this, except the boss of course.

One of the guards had long dusty mouse brown hair curled slightly accompanied by one hazel eye and one green eye, tan skin, and had freckles; the other was blonde with straight hair put up in a bun, had pale porcelain skin along with light blue eyes. Both were female. The brunette was significantly shorter, the blonde being maybe an inch taller than Paul.

He nodded at them, the blonde nodding back, before stepping towards the door, only to be stopped by the shorter guard, bayonet on the muzzle of her rifle aimed at his chest. "Sor...I mean, we have to ask your name and business with Red Leader. " The other guard turn around immediately, eyes wide. "Ash!"

Paul silenced the other with a hand, before gazing down at the brunette, practically towering over. Her face was tense and her eyes were narrowed and locked on his. "I'm sorry...it's procedure..." She was scared.

He lifted an eyebrow quizzically, before leaning forward slightly. "You...what's your name?"

She gulped before shakily answering. "Brookes... sir." She pointed a finger at the name tag on her coat.

"No, your full name."

"Mary...I mean Marilyn Ash Brookes."

He blinked at this, before standing straight up. "Ok, 'Marilyn'...my name is Paul-" Marilyn's face visibly paled before he finished, and she immediately lowered her rifle, face going red.

"Oh my....I am so so sorry, it won't happen again, I...I swear!" She choked slightly on these words, lowering her head.

"How old are you?"

She looked up, obviously confused. "What....I uh, I'm twenty-one as of two months ago."

"Hmm. Isn't that a little young to be in a place like this."

Mary bit her lip nervously before shrugging. "I don't know. I saw an opportunity and I took it."

Paul nodded. She was too young to be here of all places, something was up. "How long have you been with us?"

"Two, maybe three weeks. I don't understand Pau;....er sir. Am I in trouble?"

Paul resisted the urge to smile at the nervous kid in front of him. "No, I'll let you off the hook this time." He walked straight past her, resting his hands on the door's handles. "But if you do it again just remember, it's been a while since we've used the guillotine. I'm sure boss would like to give the old thing another shot, and I'm sure I wouldn't mind wiping the blood off of it, even yours."

Marilyn's face paled even more and she choked, eye's wide. Paul laughed in his head as he pushed the doors opened and walked through. Just before the doors swung behind him he could make out the blonde's Norwegian voice.

"What the fuck was that, tilbakestående!?"

* * *

 

Edd entered Tom's room, thankful that the smell wasn't as heavy here, and that he could finally breathe without gagging. The room was pitch black, except for the small bits of daylight dripping through the curtains. Something was spilled on the floor. A strange smell besides the sulfur like one, was heavy towards the center of the room.

Edd found his way to the wall and edged along it until his hip hit the desk. Using his hands, he searched the wall until he found what he was looking for, the light switch. He flicked it on, before turning around. Edd's heart stopped.

The usually pale colored carpet was soaked, no drenched, in blood. There was a massive puddle of it in the center from where the carpet couldn't soak up anymore, the blood there looking almost black. Edd gagged, feeling vile rise up in the back of his throat. He forced himself to swallow it down, and glanced around, hand over his mouth and eyes wide in terror. Blood was sprayed on the wall across and over his bed. Small streaks of it remained where it had dripped down.

His eyes found their way to small fuzzy object,  thrown over the side of the bed. Edd focused on it, working his way around the blood cautiously. Leaning down, Edd grasped the object, realizing it was Tom's bear. It's side was torn and it's arm hanging by a mere few threads. He turned it over finding another tear across the left side of its abdomen. Edd held onto the stuffed animal, turning around and seeing the blood again. The brunette immediately looked away, stomach churning. If the sight of it wasn't already terrible, the smell of it was sickening. But that's not what bothered Edd, no. It was the thought of how much of it there was. The puddle of it soaked into the floor was so huge it easily covered half of the floor.

Edd's eyes landed on something else red, but it was too light to be blood. The brunette stalked forward in front of the windows, still avoiding the carnage. A cool breeze wafted behind Edd suddenly as he passed, making him shiver and glance backwards at the window.

 _The window was open?_ He glanced back at the curtains, realizing they were tucked behind some of Edd's messily placed books on the floor, which is why he didn't feel the breeze before.

Shrugging, Edd turned his attention back to the red object. He dropped to one knee, stuffing the bear into his pocket so he could grab the object with both hands. Edd lifted it from the sides, realizing it was clothing when he felt the soft fabric on his fingertips. He quickly shook it loose, to see the full article.

Edd's jaw dropped when he saw it instantly recognizing it. It was a red hoodie, and not just any, it was Tord's. The right sleeve was charred off half-ways, and the hoodie was cut off poorly and missing. He jumped back landing on his rear suddenly, expecting to see him there. He was met again with the sight of blood, but he didn't shy away this time. His eyes locked on the gore, studying it emptily. It didn't take long for Edd to put two and two together.

Matt came dashing in, covering his mouth and trying to not breathe heavily. He slammed the door behind him harshly.

"Edd...Edd!" The brunette was sobbing into a red hoodie, arms hugging his knees to his chest.

Matt blinked in confusion, lowering his hand. "Edd.....?"

Edd looked up now, eyes puffy and red, tears streaming down his face as he sniffled. His gaze was distant, directly behind Matt.

Matt stepped forward, stopping in his tracks when he heard a soft squishing sound below him. Edd screamed suddenly making Matt yelp and fall backwards. Matt looked down, before screaming himself. He was sitting in a puddle of blood, which was now soaking into his pants. The ginger scrambled backwards terror etched into his face. He stumbled upward clumsily, eyes frantically darting back to Edd.

His friend was sobbing violently on the floor now, a teddy bear and red hoodie, clutched tightly in either and. He kept looking up between the objects and directly behind Matt.

"Edd?" What happened?'

Edd pointed a finger up shakily, bear still in hand, at the space right next to Matt.

Confused, he turned around to view what he was pointing at. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes caught sight of what Edd was looking at. On the wall and across part of the door in blood, a symbol was painted along with a set of words.

_**Did you miss me, gamle venner?** _

Matt blinked, eyes lowering from the wall to the blood. "No no no....."

Matt turned around, seeing Edd shakily stare up at Matt, eyes wide in horror, and mouth parted slightly as he heavily breathed out. Matt swallowed before remembering.

"We need to go, _right now."_

Edd remained silent.

"Right now, Edd!"

"Why.....?" Edd choked out, eyes brimming with tears again. He looked down, staring emptily at the hoodie and bear in his arms.

Matt stepped around the blood, now a few feet away from his friend. "I found out what was smelling, and its not good."

"What was-"

"Gas. Someone had turned on all of the gas burners, and pulled out the knobs, I couldn't fix it. It could have been releasing it for hours now Edd. We shouldn't be breathing it, much less near it. If- Edd!"

Edd was staring at the wall again, eyes studying it.

Matt groaned, grabbing Edd's arm forcefully. "Listen to me! We need to get out, now!" The sudden sound of something clinking and thudding onto the floor grabbed Matt's attention, as he looked at the source of the noise.

A small smoking bundled up newspaper rested in front of the door. That wasn't there before.

Suddenly it started on fire.

Matt's heart raced, as he glanced around in  terror, looking for something, anything. Edd stared endlessly at the wall, ignoring Matt. The ginger's sight caught onto the window and he didn't even need to think on what he should do. In a swift motion, Matt grasped onto Edd, picking him up. Edd's eyes went wide as he wrapped his arms tightly around Matt's neck, hoodie and stuffed animal still in hand.

Matt jumped out of the window, glass shattering and slicing into his skin. Edd watched as the apartment blew up, flames reaching up for them. Just before the explosion blasted them back, Edd's eyes locked onto the roof. A shadowed figure watched as the two males were flung into the street.

Everything went silent for Edd despite the loud explosion and screaming civilians that made his ears bleed.

His vision went black, the shadowed figure burnt into his mind.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOw ok, sorry if that's too short. I tried making this chapter a little longer and more detailed and updated earlier than planned as a gift for you guys! I didn't think I'd get this many views or kudos in four freakin days so thanks to everyone who bothered reading this!  
> Yes, I included some original characters, but keep in mind they are minor, and are just there as filler so I don't have to make up a million random characters I'll forget about in two minutes. They'll probs be killed off or something  
> If you have any questions, criticism, or tips you'd like to give go ahead and comment them.  
> Thanks again everyone, I'll try having chapter three out next week.  
> Have a great day!


	3. Youth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edd's lucid nightmare turns out to be a little more than just that.  
> Tom gives a certain someone a reality check before receiving one himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long guys!  
> It's summer me and I am very very very lazy when it's this hot-  
> But nonetheless I hope you enjoy!

The Dutch let the doors close behind him before he strode confidently forward in the dimly lit room. The lights were off, the only light coming from several candles behind the large, polished redwood desk. Papers were messily stacked on the desk, and a single black leather photo album was strewn about, the title on it reading "Aldri å bli glemt~". From the looks of it, it was at least a few years old. Besides that, the room was windowless and empty, excluding three chairs neatly placed in front of the desk. A single tall, black, overdramatically menacing swivel chair sat behind the desk, with four small file cabinets sitting against the wall behind it.

Paul stopped short a few feet of the desk, before speaking. "Tord."

"Don't you mean 'Red Leader'?" A voice grumbled from the swivel chair facing away from the rest of the room. Paul smiled slightly at this, rolling his eyes.

"Of course Red Leader Tord."

A deep sigh sounded from the chair, before it was turned around by its owner. 

"Paul,this better be very fucking important." Tord glared straight ahead at Paul, mouth twisted into an empty scowl, with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a little messy and the room was immediately filled with negative vibes. Tord was wearing the standard outfit that everyone else wore, except his coat was unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up. He had on black leather gloves as well, and his eyepatch was off, revealing the damaged eye beneath.

Paul immediately stopped smiling and put on a straight, serious face, eyes lowering.

"Sir-"

"Sit." Tord gestured at the middle chair, before propping his elbow up onto the desk and resting his head on his hand. The Dutch man obeyed, sitting down as quietly as possible.

"Sir, the hostage-"

"Which one?"

"The one you brought in two days ago."

Tord's eyes immediately flicked upward, staring deeply into Paul's brown spheres. 

"Tom."

"What?"

"His name is Tom."

"Oh.....Well something happened regarding 'Tom', i thought you might like to know....." Paul trailed off suddenly, when Tord flipped open the photo album, and began flicking through the pages, eyes trained on the pictures inside.

"And?" Tord kept flipping through, not bothering to stop. 

"There was an accident less an hour ago..."

The Norwgian looked up now, eyes lowered. "Accident?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I took my break and when I came back he was lying on the floor, bleeding. I'm guessing 'Tom' woke up, freaked out, and tried walking."

Tord frowned slightly looking back down at a photo. "I'm guessing he's alive then?"

Paul nodded. "We have him in ziekenzaal now." The auburn haired man lifted an eyebrow at Paul, who took a few seconds before realizing his mistake. "Sorry, sorry. What I mean is he's in the lab with all the squints at the moment. I just came up now to inform you in case of death."

Tord nodded, still focused on the picture below him. "I see.....I'll go check it out in a minute." Paul glanced around awkwardly, not knowing how to phrase the next bit.

"Tord, if I may ask, why are you taking so much interest in this 'Tom'? I mean you gave him a better room then we'd usually offer, you usually throw them in one of the dungeons, or you have us break their limbs...." Tord didn't respond, instead whispering something in his native tounge under his breath.

The Dutch man sighed, pulling himself to his feet. He turned to leave, stepping away from the desk before Tord's accented voice rang out behind him. "Paul, wait."

Obeying, the light skinned man moved back towards the desk, after a gesture from hs superior. "Yes?"

Tord nodded at him, sliding a single photo forward with his fingers. "Tell me," Paul reached out and grasped the photo carefully, before viewing it. ".....what do you see?" Paul studied it cautiously, careful not to touch the actual image depicted on it. 

There were four young males in it standing side by side, each couldn't have been more than sixteen, maybe seventeen. The first had on a massive grin, with fair skin and obnoxiously bright ginger-orange hair; he had a few freckles, with bright blueish-green eyes, and he was wearing a black hoodie, his arm resting on the shoulder of the next boy. The boy beside him was a little shorter, with medium brown fluffy hair, brown eyes, olive skin, dimples from his awkward smile, was wearing a green hoodie, and was holding a cola can. Near the center of the picture was the tallest of the bunch, with dark brown hair, grey eyes, light tan skin, and he had on a playful smirk; besides that, he wore a black trenchcoat and was holding a knife and fork together in one hand, the other grabbing the final male by a tie. The male on the farthest side had light ash brown spiky hair, pale skin, and what looked like black eyes; he had on a blue button up shirt and black and white checkered tie, which despite being jerked forward by, he still had on a smile. The corners of Paul's mouth turned slightly, which was as a close to a smile as he would let on at the moment.

"They look....happy." Paul stared at the photo for a few seconds before it occured to him who the boy on the far right was, making his smile fall. "Is that him? Tom?" Paul didn't look up for a reply, instead going over it again, realizing there was text written below the image in small cursive words.

_ ℳαℸℸ,  ℇ∂∂,  ℸℴr∂,  αη∂  ℸℴღ- 1/17/05 _

 "And.....oh. " Paul looked up now, seeing the leader study him curiously. "That's you..."

Tord nodded, humming slightly. Paul looked back down in disbelief. "Oh wow....you look so different in this...I can't really believe it's you." Tord shrugged, straightening his figure slightly, before pushing himself up with his hands. "That was a little longer than thirteen years ago I believe. I was only fourteen at the time. A lots changed since then...." Tord walked around his desk now, stretching slightly. "Edd and Matt are still similar, they didn't really grow any taller either." Tord chuckled to himself, standing directly in front of the taller male now. 

Paul smiled a little, handing the photo back.  Tord took it, opening the inside of his coat to stuff it in a side pocket.

"What happened?"

Tord didn't need to ask to know what he meant. He sighed heavily, eyelids lowering a tad. "If I'm being honest, I don't even know. I've had nine months to think about it and in the end, all I can conclude is that one of us changed in the worst way possible and may have overreacted on something that died a long time ago....to show off and be selfish if you will." The leader's  face contorted slightly as he stared off in the difference. "And the rest forgot. They just forgot and that's that. They forgot everything. Even the things we shared were forgotten, no matter how the other felt...." Tord looked back at Paul, eyes brimming with something he couldn't quite name. 

"I understand. So this is revenge?"

Tord laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "No, no, no..... revenge is for children. This is absolution. I'm fulfilling something that has been needing a replacement for a long time. I'm fixing this, if you will. It's time someone remembered anyways." 

Before Paul could ask anything Tord ushered him out without a wave of his hand. "You go check on Tom, see if he's still breathing. I'll be just a minute."

Paul turned to exit, before hesitating. "Wait, by chance can I grab a file on someone?"

Tord lifted an eyebrow, turning upward slightly. "That depends, on who?" 

"One of the new guards, I wanted to run a background-check."

"Oh, the guards. Be my guest, take the full folder if you'd like." Tord replied, face softening. He quickly strode over to one of the file cabinets behind his desk, pulling open one of the drawers loudly. He fingered softly through the dozens of thick files, before pulling up a rather thick and heavy one. Tord pushed the drawer closed with his hip, studying the front of it as he came back towards Paul, thick Norwegian accent ringing out. "There you go, tell me if you find anything interesting or unusual."

The Dutch male nodded, shifting the large folder in his arms, before he marched out, pushing the door open with his side. Tord waited a few seconds after the door closed before he turned around, smile disappearing. He pulled out the photo again, staring heavily at the figures on it. Tord glanced at the remaining photo album back on his desk before grumbling. The Norwegian dragged himself back over to the shiny redwood desk, and dropped the picture on it, grabbing the album instead, and shoving it into his coat. 

He hastily buttoned it now, before striding over to the doors, confidence and an unusual sudden urge brimming in his chest. 

Tord pushed the doors open, white light flooding in and blinding him slightly.

* * *

 

 

A subtle beeping noise quietly rang out.

That's the first thing Edd heard, feeling numb. The noise slowly built up, getting louder and definitely more annoying. Edd groaned, feeling uncomfortable suddenly, a strange tingling traveling up his spine. It reminded him almost of that feeling you get when your foot falls asleep. When the noise and feeling became too overwhelming Edd started fighting it off. He shook and moved as hard as possible, and even tried screaming.

_ It didn't stop.  _

A different noise reached out suddenly, drowning out the beeping noise steadily; it was a trickling or dripping noise, and it seemed to be getting heavier and faster, until it became a gushing noise. Edd was grateful until he felt a sudden cool liquid-like substance touch around the edges of his body, and go up his back, and even the nape of his neck and back of his head. The second it touched along his spine, an intense shocking pain rippled throughout his abdomen, feeling as if his insides were entirely ice. The substance quickly rose, rising up to his sides and almost covering his neck.

The sickening smell of what seemed to be the ocean hit him, making him cry out when combined with the sharp pain. Edd felt hot tears build up, until he let them leak out. Big mistake. The tears burned like fire trailing down his face, and when he opened his mouth to scream, water gushed in from around him. He choked on it trying to spit it out, only being met with more water, which now filled his nostrils too. The salty water hit the back of his throat making him gag and swallow some.

He finally opened his eyes now and almost gasped. He was surrounded by dark, almost black water. Their was nothing else just water. Edd opened his mouth, surprised when water didn't rush in, but instead blew out. He quickly found that he couldn't breathe, but even without it he wasn't drowning either. He wasn't even wet either. Edd looked up, or what he assumed was up anyways, seeing a distant dim light. Without much thought, the brunette swam up, pulling himself upwards against the icy cold water. 

He did this for what felt like ages, until it dawned on him that he was getting farther away, the light being a mere speck against the dark waves. Edd looked around curiously, all previous terror forgotten now. A pink cherry blossom caught Edd's sight now, floating upwards slowly and gracefully. Edd watched it silently, studying it as it floated up and away from his sight.

Edd looked down, in the direction it originated from, catching sight of dozens more. The light skinned man quickly slashed his hand through the water, grasping a few. He opened his palm, surprised to see them suddenly crumble  on sight. Edd furrowed  his brow in confusion, looking down again. Hundreds on hundreds of petal floated up, soft pink blossoms swaying in the current.

Edd didn't quite know why but he swam down now, following the trails of them that were rising. Edd pulled himself down with his strong hands, but letting gravity do most of the work as it calmly pulled him down. Edd finally caught sight of the cause of this. 

A giant pile of blossoms sprouted out of a huge crevice, thousands of petals crumbling off. The brunette edged closer now, until he was less than two feet away. Edd leaned in now, and extended his arm, hand reaching out for the center.

Without warning, a large object smashed into the back of his skull, forcing his head down into the pink flowers violently. Thorns picked at Edd's face, making him cry out, hot liquid burning down his cheeks again, but this time he couldn't tell if it was tears, or even blood. Blossoms were forced down his throat making him suffocate, as he began to lose feeling of the cold water around him and could only feel soft flora on his skin. Edd cried again struggling against the flowers in the back of his throat, until suddenly....

Warmth. 

Edd opened his eyes hesitantly, before fully opening them when the pain receded. His body was entirely numb now, excluding the soft feeling of something brushing along his legs. He saw almost nothing except bright light and pastel pinks surrounding him. Surprisingly, the light didn't even burn his eyes, despite how intense it was. 

Edd sat up suddenly, lungs begging for air. He took a large breath, air sliding pleasantly into him, and out, as he exhaled slowly afterward.  He couldn't quite tell what specifically it was, but the air tasted and smelled like something sweet.  The brunette breathed in again to taste the air, as he looked around from his better viewpoint. 

He was surrounded by tall pink grass, from as far as he could see. A few meters away, two large trees stood tall, with white drooping flowers hanging from their branches. Edd shuddered at the sight of them, quickly remembering his near-death experience a few minutes ago. Or had it been hours already?

Edd shrugged the feeling off, pulling his stretched out legs towards him before pushing himself onto his feet. He stood up straight, stretching his mostly bare legs. Looking down at himself he realized he was in nothing but a hospital gown,. The pale-skinned man opened his mouth to state the obvious, stopping when nothing came out despite his efforts. Edd looked around again, seeing nothing he hadn't already observed. 

He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft warm breeze that blew by often,and the sugary sweet scent around him. He sighed, feeling content, before dropping slowly onto his rear, before he lie down. The soft silky grass, cozy atmosphere, and lukewarm temperature were more then enough to let sleep start dawning on his consciousness. Edd felt the drowsiness began overwhelming him as he seemed to sink deeper into the soft grass, feeling it begin to devour him. Edd's eyes closed, feeling blanketed in a sense of calm.....

A loud barking noise sounded out, half sounding like a scream.

Edd's eyes opened in a sudden breath of fear and curiosity, as his body shot up with difficulty. He looked around wildly, feeling a previously unknown sense of anxiety. Beyond him, he heard thrashing sounds quickly approaching. The brunette stumbled to his feet, struggling to shake the drowsiness from his senses. His eyes immediately fell on something that was quickly dashing towards him, making loud hissing noises as it moved through the brush.

Panic gripped onto Edd, as he felt his feet start pulling him forward without consent. He ran as quickly as possible, looking back to only to see whatever it was was much closer, and was swiftly closing in on him. He looked forward again, increasing his speed to as high as his body would let him. Around him the sweet scent disappeared, being replaced steadily by the scent of rotting meat, and the grass around him started shriveling up. Wherever his feet touched, the grass would turn black, and crumble away. Edd closed his before open mouth, trying to breathe through his nose instead, despite the stench. His lungs screamed for him to stop, and his body cried out, legs feeling heavy and weak. His dry throat cracked as he swallowed hard.

Edd kept on running for who knows how long, until his body forced him to stop. His legs gave out beneath him, making him yelp in surprise as he tumbled harshly to the ground, body scraping against the now hard and ice cold earth below him. The brunette hissed under his breath, feeling the scrapes burn and began to sting. Edd usually wouldn't cry at a scrape, but this was different. Tears flooded down the light skinned man cheeks as he looked around in terror, arms wrapping around his bruising, bleeding body.

He struggled to his feet, feeling the heavy pain and exhaustion rise up again in his lower limbs. Edd gritted his teeth at the hurt he felt, limping forward pathetically, towards a tree that looked somewhat remotely climbable. Edd found after a moment, that it was getting harder to move anymore. He looked down seeing that the ground had turned a deep jet black color, and was sloshing up a gooey slime substance onto his legs. It was cold and instantly forced him to shiver. Edd struggled through it, the sense of fear he felt intensifying. He felt forward, landing sharply on his side, pain rippling again onto his already abused body.

The brown-eyed male shivered, salty tears running down his face. He cried out again, forgetting the freezing substance holding his body down as a splitting, stabbing pain erupted from his wounds. His screams only got louder as the pain continued harshly getting worse and even moving onto his eye. Edd shut it tightly, slapping a hand over it. He pulled his hand back quickly, as soon as he felt warm liquid run over it. 

He couldn't see very well through his tears that blurred his vision, but he could almost immediately guess that the warm, crimson liquid was blood. Sobs sounded out from his parched throat, as he forced himself to cover the eye again. He looked over his body once more, silent crying. The huge scrapes on his arm grabbed Edd's attention, as he saw something stirring over it. He squinted, until he saw a small green sprout grow out, the few leaves on it fanning out. His screeches returned as more and more came up, following any open wound on his body. The pain grew worse, as  they grew bigger, small buds growing now. He cried out, doing his best to claw them off, only stopping when he felt a tearing sensation before one sprouted from his bleeding eye. 

Edd stopped moving, arms dropping to his side suddenly when the pain just.... stopped. 

The buds opened up quickly after, blooming beautiful red and pink roses, being the only color at the moment besides the landscape's now greyscale coloring. The rose in his eyes bloomed, surprisingly not making any feeling stir. In fact, everything felt numb despite the obvious carnage beneath the flora on his body.

Sleep tugged at Edd again, and despite his efforts, he couldn't fight it. His body wouldn't allow him to move, and all of his previous adrenaline subsided. Edd closed his eyes willingly, blinking a few times as his final efforts. 

Everything was silent except for the soft growls coming from above him, the only thing he felt being sleep and the heavy weight standing over him.

Edd's eyes flashed open as this processed into his mind but it was too late. A crushing bite to his throat silenced him, as he choked in surprise. His lids dropped at this, unconsciousness taking over.

The last thing Edd remembered was the beast's single bluish-green eye, locked onto his, and thefollowing scream that wasn't his.

**_"EDD!"_ **  


* * *

 

Tom groaned lightly, eyes tightly closed. An annoying buzzing sound was playing in the back of his head, making him hiss lightly in discomfort. Muffled voices surrounded him, or seemed to at least, being too quiet to actually make out what they were saying. Beyond that, he could hear the laugh of a small child echoing slightly.

Tom opened his empty eyes, squinting at first, but gradually lifted his eyelids when he realized there was no overly bright light to hurt his....'eyes'.

He blinked away what little drowsiness he felt a few times, before actually looking around. He was in a long room, with white walls, and beige polished tile. At either side of the narrower wall, a small window was located, which seemed to be the source of most of the light, excluding a few lit candles placed around the room. From what Tom could tell, there weren't any actual lights, leaving the ceiling bare. Besides that, the room was lined up along the walls with at least 2 dozen hospital beds, each with cotton padding and silk white sheets. By those, medical carts, IVs, and sheets to separate a few of the beds. From Tom's current viewpoint, only a few beds were actually occupied. A sheet to his left blocked the majority of his vision of that side of the room. On his right, the sheet was pulled back halfways.

The room itself was warm, and the light itself relaxing, the two giving it a calm feeling. Tom suddenly felt uncomfortable staring at all this, shifting his back slightly, before immediately, wrenching backwards in pain. He hissed, muttering a few cuss words, as he remembered everything. Tom breathed out gently for a few moments, letting the pain go away on its own time.

It didn't full subside however, instead leaving the eyeless man with a small throbbing pain along his spine. Everything below his hips was numb.

Tom slowly extended his arm up, and grasped the white silky sheet covering him, before wrenching it back and dropping the sheet on the floor. His eyes fell over his body, face contorting into one of shock. 

His left leg had a thin cast on it, stopping mid-thigh, the leg from what he could see underneath was a dark sickening purple. On his right leg, a bandage was tightly  and heavily wrapped around the wound underneath. Tom was very glad at that moment that he couldn't feel pain from his waist down. Besides his legs, he was wearing a loose white hospital gown, decorated with blue and light purple polka dots. The eyeless man pulled down the gown immediately, when he saw that it was pulled up slightly from moving the sheet. At this, he also took note of the IVs and blood pressure monitor on his arms.

Tom didn't dare move his legs this time, now he knew better, and even if he didn't, it didn't seem like he could even if he wanted to. Tom would try to lightly wiggle each leg, the left having no response, right barely doing so without an explosion of pain that would course through.

After a few moments, Tom stopped, hearing two voices getting louder than the rest as he listened. Hearing two pairs of footsteps, he pulled himself upward slightly with his hands, leaning back more comfortably despite the protest from his lower body. After a few seconds of listening in, Tom's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise, fear, and rage.

"Have you been stretching it, and doing those daily exercises I gave you last appointment?"

"Yes, but I feel like there's been little to no improvement."

"That's to be expected, sir. This sort of thing takes months, even years to recover from, unless a prosthetic is applied."

"I know, I know. But there's a certain  _'hobby'_ that I'd like to get back to, if you know what I mean."

A laugh sounded out from the other at this.

He studied the two, noting both with accents. One was younger with a light Russian accent and a soft demeanor and friendly laugh, belonging to someone in their early twenties. The other was older, late twenties or early thirties, being heavily Norwegian with an outspoken vibe to it. Tom immediately recognized Tord's voice from this, hissing slightly as he came into view.

Tord was walking alongside a younger male. The male fit his voice almost perfectly, with black fluffy hair combed to the side, glasses, green eyes, with an olive-skin tone. He wore a bright white lab coat with a red tie underneath, gray medical pants, and black shoes. On his wrist he wore a watch, a stethoscope was pulled over his shoulder,and he had a clipboard in hand. Tord on the other hand had on a simple grey t-shirt with a black smiley face logo painted on, having X's for eyes. He also wore dark jeans, the same eye patch from their recent 'encounter', and had on black shoes, probably converse. His hair was the way it regularly was, except a little messier. In the crook of his arm he had a red article of clothing, which Tom assumed was a jacket of some sort. 

He jumped up in surprise when Tord sat down suddenly, on a bed to the right of the one directly across from him. Their eyes locked.

Tord's grey sphere stared deeply into Tom's empty ones, before a smirk rolled onto his face. "Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens."

Tom almost shouted back in anger until he heard the Norwegian continue under his breath.  _"I knew that kiss worked."_

Tom cringed face crunching up in disgust.

The other male turned at the ruckess, following the auburn-haired man's gaze. 

"Ah Tom, you're awake! I'll be with you in just a second." The eyeless man didn't respond, instead he looked back towards Tord, who rolled his eyes before turning back to the man, which Tom now was assured that he was a doctor of some sort. Tom took the opportunity to study his enemy again, eyes hungrily searching in anger and curiosity. 

Tord's right arm was a light, bright colored red, with a thick, leathery exterior appearance, and had small, whiter scars along the forearm. His nails were completely gone on his hand, which looked slightly worse. The right side of his face and part of his neck matched the arm almost exactly, except half of his ear was gone, probably burned away from the explosion. 

Tom listened loosely to the conversation between the two, gaze falling to the floor. 

"How much skin growth would you say has happened, if any at all?"

"None." Tord replied nonchalantly, eyes falling to his fumbling hands in front of him. 

"Mmm hmm.... has any feeling whatsoever returned?"

"A little."

"Ok, how much would you rate the feeling there, one being the best, ten being the worse?"

The conversation continued like that, the doctor asking questions, and Tord giving mostly negative answers. Tom only had to wait so long before he guessed what they were talking about. 

After a few minutes, the doctor finally finished. "All right, all I can recommend for the time being is to continue the exercises and regular cleaning." He stepped away for a second before looking back in the Norwegian's direction. "You know if this doesn't improve in the next few months we may have to consider,  _that_ option..."

Tord was quick to glance up, glaring daggers through slitted eyes. "Not a chance Russkie." An awkward silence passed between the two until the doctor let out a worried sigh, before he walked away, moving onto his next patient. 

Tom tried his best to look like he wasn't paying attention, crossing his arms, and staring blankly at his cast, eyes half-lidded. Tord stared at the spot the doctor had just been standing, tsking lightly. After a few moments he sat up straight again, eyes falling back over Tom.

Tom shifted his gaze quickly over Tord, when he heard that oh so familiar laugh that used to piss him off easily. Tord was chuckling at Tom now, hunched over slightly. 

"What's so funny commie?" That came out louder than expected, making Tord raise his eyebrows. The Norwegian sighed, a soft smirk on his face as he shifted his body to face towards Tom. 

"I'd be careful saying such offensive slurs here, Jehovah. Look at where you are and just think for a second," Tord gestured his hand over the room. "Everyone here is a communist, believe it or not. Saying things like that around here could result in some unwanted attention."

Tom's face faltered, the gravity of the situation, no the place he was in, hitting him.

"And especially with your current condition....." Tord looked Tom up and down, before laughing again. "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Tom was silent, a million questions nagging at his brain, mouth opening and closing slightly as he struggled to speak. 

_Shut up._  


"What's wrong Thomas? 'Commie' got your tongue?" 

Tom looked up at Tord, frowning. "What are y....Where am I?"

 _ Wrong _   _question._

Tord's smile disappeared as his eyes lowered a little, not noticing Tom shake his head slightly. He was expecting the question sooner or later, but now that he actually heard it out loud.....it just felt wrong. He bit his lip slightly, setting his arms back as he leaned on them. He hummed quietly, thinking for a minute on how to phrase the next part.

"You're in a hospital. Well sort of, anyways."

Tom nodded, swallowing the hesitation in his throat. "But where?"

Tord's eye focused on Tom, studying him. He looked.....sad? That's less of what he expected, but he knew he obviously would be from the get go. The thing was, this wasn't the sad he expected. This looked deeper somehow, yet like Tom was used to it, like maybe it had just always been there, somewhere. Whatever it was, from the messy unkempt hair, dark circles under those empty eyes, the pill bottle he'd found days earlier, or all of these, this feeling Tom gave off made Tord's skin crawl. There was something about it that was familiar, it was scary. Where had he seen it before...?

Tom grunted slightly, catching Tord's attention.

"Ah yes. We're along the Norway-Sweden border. "

 Tom leaned back, throwing his head back onto the fluffy pillow behind him and sighing.  Tord waited a few seconds to see if Tom would do anything. Tom stared up at the ceiling, not moving, barely breathing. So many thoughts ran through his head it almost hurt to try and process them all.

"I'm only telling you because you can't walk, nonetheless run, even if you wanted and tried your best to."

Silence.

The Norwegian breathed out, breaking that terribly awkward atmosphere Tom had created. "Why aren't you freaking out?" 

Tom lifted his head, glaring at Tord through his lowered eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I expected you to be freaking out, or throwing some bad attitude around. I don't know, something!"

Tom groaned, sitting up, hissing slightly at the small throbbing pain in his leg when he did. He faced Tord, lip curling in anger. "I don't care. I came home one day after a terrible 'adventure' with my friends, to be attacked by the idiot I killed. Sorry, the idiot I thought I had killed. I wake up, in some creepy ass basement or whatever it was, with a bullet wound in my leg, and some massive bruise on the other. I can't even remember what happened after that, except that it was excruciatingly painful. Next thing I know, I wake up, in a hospital 'of some sort', to see your ugly mug staring back at me, with surprise surprise; a broken leg this time.

"If you're looking for a complaint, then here you go. You should have decided to kidnap me nine months earlier, asshole. Instead, you leave me and your other 'friends' to contemplate why you did what you did, and try to mend together the parts of ourselves you thought would be fun to toy with. You left me to live with the guilt of knowing-, sorry thinking, I had killed you, someone who I cared for despite the arguments, fights, death threats, and everything else we did together. So gee, thanks for that!

"Matt's an absolute mess, yet unlike me, he can hide it behind a smile, and not six beers. He refuses to remember you or the 'accident' as Edd calls it; we don't know what else to call your fuck up. Edd used to cry every night for two months because he blames himself, for not keeping in contact, not being close enough, Jon's death, and you and the 'accident'. Me? I don't even know what goes on in my head anymore. Everything is so, so wrong. To this day, we don't know why you did it. Why you used us for years, just randomly left us, wanted fucking world domination, tried killing me and them, and why you back-stabbed in general.

"So if you want any more complaints, feel free to ask Edd, Matt, or even my dead neighbor, but don't you dare come running to me, to see me get mad and give you an excuse to fight with me, just like old times. There are no more old times, Tord. There never will be. I tried and failed at moving on, and it appears you did too, except you didn't accept the fact that it's over, that it's way past the End now."

Tord was left breathless at Tom's rant, mouth parted slightly in protest and eyes wide in shock. His eyes were shakily focused on Tom, who huffed before rolling onto his side, facing away from the auburn haired male. 

Tord blinked a few times, registering what Tom said a few times, words emptily flowing through his mind. He stood up, grasping the coat from before in his  not charred arm. Tom heard footsteps approach his bed, but he ignored them, even when he felt something drop on the bed, before the footsteps moved away, echoing until they disappeared completely. He waited a few minutes, expecting them to return. 

_ You ruined  it. _ .. _Again._

"Shut up."

When the footsteps didn't return, the eyeless man sat up, glancing at whatever fell on his bed. 

His heartbeat sped up as his eyes fell over the familiar blue hoodie,  _his_ familiar blue hoodie. Tom immediately hugged the blue hoodies, despite the blood still stained on it. Only did he stop when he heard a rustling from inside, making him jump. This caused his leg to throb again, but he ignored that, pulling the opening of his hoodie pocket to peek inside. He jumped a second time at the robin that poked its head out. It chirped at him almost gleefully.

Tom chuckled slightly, extending a hand for it. "I remember you...."

It chirped in response, before hopping into his open palm, blinking its shiny black eyes at him.

"How'd you get here?"

The robin puffed its feathery chest out, before settling down onto his palm.

"More importantly, why'd you stay in the first place?"

It blinked, turning its head.

Tom laughed again, stroking a finger over its back, enjoying the feeling of its soft feathers. The quickening sound of approaching footsteps made him panic slightly. He looked around quickly, seeing a wheelchair he hadn't noticed before to his left. Quickly grasping the small bird, he scooted forward and gently dropped it on the object, throwing  his hoodie over it. 

He turned around again, just in time to see the doctor from earlier. He smiled slightly as he approached Tom, pulling up his clipboard and stopping a few feet away from his bed. He grinned, before speaking Russian accent showing through. "Ah, Tom I presume?" Tom nodded, which urged the doctor to continue.

"My name is Dmitry Pavlischev, but you can call me Mitya if that's easier to pronouce. I've been assigned to you as your doctor." He held out his hand, which Tom just glanced at before looking back up at him.

Dmitri pulled his hand back, pulling over a stool. He sat down, before pulling a file out from his clipboard. He flipped through, stopping to full out a few of its contents. Dmitri shuffled through a few, pulling out a grey form and two X-rays. "My report says.... ah you're suffering from a broken leg and ankle, and a gunshot wound to the knee....oh..." He studied one of the X-rays, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Tom raised an eyebrow, urging the doc to finish.

"You must have really...." He squinted slightly, as if struggling to remember something. "'Pissed'.....yes, pissed off Red Leader for him to do this much damage."

"What? 'Red Leader'?"

Dmitri nodded, looking up. "Red leader, yes. The man from earlier, who was across from you."

Tom cringed at the name, shuddering. "What else did he do?"

"The bullet shattered your kneecap. You must have fallen near the time you were shot, because the tendons surrounding are almost all snapped. The only thing not is the artery running through. Also, these bone fragments are very small. It'll be a miracle if I don't have to completely remove your entire knee."

Mitya glanced at Tom, seeing his horrified face. He quickly moved onto the next X-ray, studying it. "But, there's good news too."

Tom looked up, eyelids lifting a little.

"Yes, the break on this doesn't seem too bad. It was a very clean break. It's too soon to say without further tests, but I think it won't require surgery, and will probably heal very nicely."

"And my uncle...?"

Dmitri smiled at him, setting the X-rays and papers down. "That's fine too. The same deal as with the leg break."

Tom sighed in relief, immediately feeling a weight lift off of his shoulders. He stared back at the doc, before continuing. "How long is everything going to take to heal?"

The black haired male, thought for a second before answering. "This is just a guess, but two to five months for the breaks, and for the knee, it can take up to six months to two years, and that may never heal."

Tom's face paled instantly. "Two years.....?"

Dmitri sighed. "Yes, but there's always oth-"

"What's the worst and best scenario?"

The doctor scowled a little, picking up the papers from his lap. "Are you sure you want to know? It's too early to give precise details and I don't want to get your hopes up or lower them." 

Tom quickly nodded, desperation heavy in his voice. "Please....make an educated guess, I need to know."

The Russian gave in, mumbling something in his native tongue. "Fine. Worst case scenario, you never walk again, at least not without a prosthetic or a brace if you're lucky. Best case, you walk with a limp, and the bone fragments are big enough to repair with screws. "

Tom breathed out, closing his eyes, as a sense of calm washed over him. "Thank you...."  


Dmitri shrugged, putting the file back in his clipboard, before standing up. "If it helps Tom, Red Leader- er Tord, didn't want you dead or in a lot of pain. If he did you would've had two smashed in knees, and a shot to the heart."

Tom wasn't really paying attention, instead looking at his hoodie in interest, but nonetheless he still turned and thanked the doctor. "Thanks Mitya."

"No problem. And before I go, I should probably change your catheter."

Tom blankly stared him.

"......what's a 'catheter'?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I appreciate it lots!  
> And thanks for all the kudos and support guys, I was super nervous about posting this when I first had the idea, it being my first fanfic and because a lot of people are negative towards TomTord. (Yes, it is a somewhat toxic ship, but not in this fanfic at least.)  
> I hope you all enjoyed, stay tuned for next week!


End file.
